Efficacy of repeated ovum pick-up in Podolic cattle for preservation strategies: a pilot study

摘要

The study evaluated the effects of eCG treatment prior to ovum pick up (OPU) on follicularpopulation, oocyte and embryo yields in summer and autumn in Podolic cattle. The effects ofrepeated OPU on cattle wellbeing was also documented. Twenty-six animals were used, andsplit into two groups, treatment (OPU; n ? 18) and control (CG; n ? 8). The OPU cattle were subsequentlysplit into two subgroups (n ? 9) and underwent repeated OPU, without and with eCGpriming, for a total of 8 sessions (4 sessions/season). Follicular population, oocyte and embryoyields were recorded in those sub-groups. CG was handled in the same manner of OPU, exceptfor epidural anaesthesia and follicular aspiration. Biochemical profile, serum protein electrophoresisand haptoglobin levels were analysed in OPU and CG. Hormonal priming increased thenumber of medium follicles (1.7 ± 0.2 vs 0.9 ± 0.2, p .05), while it decreased the recovery rateand number of cumulus-enclosed oocytes (COCs) (recovery rate: 38.3 ± 3.5 vs 60.5 ± 4.0%; COCs:2.3 ± 0.3 vs 3.4 ± 0.4, respectively; p .01). However, priming increased cleavage (72.9 ± 5.7 vs49.4 ± 5.4; p .05) and blastocyst (41.1 ± 5.7 vs 23.0 ± 4.2; p ? .054) rates. With regard to season’seffect, a higher number of COCs was recorded in autumn than in summer (3.1 ± 0.4 vs 2.6 ± 0.3;p .05) without affecting though the number of embryos produced (0.9 on average). Sincehaematological parameters did not vary between OPU and CG, our preliminary data suggestthat repeated OPU may be used as a conservation strategy in Podolic cattle without affectingwellbeing.